


Liquid Courage

by margiela



Category: X1 (Korea Band)
Genre: Alcohol, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Love Confessions, M/M, Pining, kind of, one (1) Bar Fight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:54:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25418008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/margiela/pseuds/margiela
Summary: Here's a joke: Wooseok and Seungyoun walk into a bar....(The punchline: whenever Wooseok gets drunk, he fights all of Seungyoun's battles for him.)
Relationships: Cho Seungyeon | Seungyoun/Kim Wooseok | Wooshin
Comments: 23
Kudos: 108
Collections: Different Pools Fic Fest





	Liquid Courage

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt #148** : friendstolovers!au Seungyoun always finds it amusing when Wooseok gets tipsy and tries to fight his battles for him

Friday nights always start like this: Seungyoun is sitting at a table in a bar and nursing a beer, watching as a very tipsy Wooseok giggles at something stupid that Hangyul has done, smacking the younger in the arm and earning himself an indignant pout. 

“Ouch, hyung!” Hangyul grumbles, rubbing his arm reproachfully. To the rest of the group, he says, “I always forget that even though he’s tiny, he packs a punch.” 

“You’re really asking for it now,” Wooseok says loudly, elbow knocking into a cluster of shot glasses as he raises his arm to smack Hangyul again, this time in the back of the head. 

Wooseok is about to go in for another smack but is distracted when Seungwoo returns to their table with soju bombs for everyone.

“Ooh!” Wooseok exclaims happily, eyes sparking as he slides over to make room for the elder to sit down. 

Seungyoun watches all of this fondly, thinking idly to himself about how pretty Wooseok looks when he’s like this, a faint pink flush high on his cheeks, quick to laugh, quick to smile, quick to smother anyone with affection. Seungyoun has long stopped being shocked at himself for thinking this way about his best friend—although it is quite a time waster seeing as it’s never gonna happen. 

A boy (man?) can dream.

He shakes himself and returns to the present just in time to watch Yohan chug his soju bomb in three seconds flat. Yohan does not have the alcohol tolerance to be displaying this kind of behavior. He steals Hangyul’s drink, much to his chagrin, and does the same thing. What the hell. 

“Bro!” Hangyul attempts to kick Yohan in the shin underneath the table but misses and gets Seungyoun instead. He half-heartedly apologizes to a very teary-eyed Seungyoun, who only glares in response.

“He’s drinking his way through your wallet, hyung,” Wooseok says in a cheery tone to the eldest of the group, who watches all this with an expression akin to Shocked-Pikachu.jpg.

Friday nights also consist of Hangyul and Yohan not spending a single bit of their own money because being the youngest has its advantages like that, lucky brats. 

“Wooseok, Seungyoun, you guys are up,” Seungwoo says tiredly, drinking his own soju bomb at a respectable pace in comparison to the children that they’re babysitting. 

“Give me a second,” Wooseok says, reaching across the table and snatching up Seungyoun’s water bottle and gulping from it. Seungyoun watches with his eyebrows raised, draining the rest of the beer he’s been holding onto. He pushes his own soju bomb towards Hangyul, since Yohan had stolen his. 

Seungyoun stands from the table and fixes the group’s youngest with a firm, stern look. “I want both of your water bottles to be empty by the time we come back with the drinks.”

Hangyul rolls his eyes as he takes a gulp from the drink Seungyoun had given him. “Okay, dad.” 

Seungwoo raises an eyebrow as he slides out of the booth so Wooseok can get out. “Who’s the mom?”

“What do you mean who’s the mom, we’re all gay here,” Wooseok snorts as he stands. “You’re dad number one, Seungyoun is dad number two.”

“Then who are you?” Yohan pipes up.

“Dad number three!”

“Whoa, our parents are in a poly,” Yohan says, awed. 

“Wh–” Seungyoun begins, but Wooseok is already pushing him towards the bar area. 

“They won’t remember this conversation tomorrow,” Wooseok says cheerily, “there’s no point asking for an explanation.” 

“You’re not going to remember this either, dumbass,” Seungyoun snorts, and Wooseok just shrugs. 

They reach the bar, and it’s crowded, about two or three people deep, and it takes a few minutes of chatting before Wooseok loses his patience and begins squeezing through people, earning himself a few disgruntled looks. 

“Seok, you can’t just–” Seungyoun doesn’t even get to finish his sentence before Wooseok has pushed his way through the crowd and up to the bar. Seungyoun sighs heavily and closes his eyes for a moment before he directs an apologetic look at the people around him as he follows the smaller man up against the bar. Wooseok turns his head and smiles sweetly up at him when Seungyoun drapes an arm over his shoulder. 

“I ordered shots,” Wooseok says loudly in an attempt to be heard over the sound of the small crowd around them. “Tequila!”

“Tequila?” Seungyoun cries, voice breaking. “Why out of everything, did you choose tequila?” Wooseok just laughs at him and turns back as the bartender slides 5 shots across the bartop.

Seungyoun gently nudges Wooseok out of the way and groups up all the shots, picking them up carefully before turning slowly and making his way away from the bar and out of the crowd. Wooseok leads him and they’re almost through when–

“Shit!” Seungyoun groans as someone knocks into him, hard, jostling his grip on the shots and sending half the liquor down the front of his shirt and onto his pants.

The guy that knocked into him gives him an ugly look, scoffing as he eyes Seungyoun up and down.

“Watch where you’re going, dumbass.” 

Seungyoun can feel the spike in irritation, bordering on anger rising in his chest, but he tampers it down because this guy isn’t worth it, rolling his eyes. 

The same cannot be said for Wooseok. 

Something flashes in the smaller man’s eyes, his jaw setting as he stomps over and pushes Seungyoun behind him, as if protecting the taller man. 

“You watch where _you’re_ fucking going, asshole,” Wooseok snaps. 

The guy looks down at Wooseok, a slow grin forming on his face as he eyes him from top to bottom, an eyebrow raised. Seungyoun feels that irritation from moments earlier flaring up again as the guy steps closer, a full-fledged grin formed now. 

“Why’re you all worked up, princess?” The guy reaches up a hand and uses the back of his finger to touch Wooseok’s cheek. “I didn’t bump into you.” 

“Do _not_ call me princess,” Wooseok fumes, smacking the guy’s hand away from his face. “And don’t fucking touch me.” 

“Okay, damn,” the guy sneers, putting his hands up and backing away slowly, turning away. “Relax.” 

That seems to set Wooseok off even more, and Seungyoun can see the way his jaw sets.

Time to step in before the tiny man makes someone cry. 

“Seok,” Seungyoun says firmly, and Wooseok looks over at him, expression defiant. “Leave it. He’s not worth it.” 

“But he–”

“Seokie,” Seungyoun says flatly, giving him a look. “Let it go. I’m fine. I just have 12,000 won worth of tequila on me.” 

Wooseok’s shoulders slump as he follows the taller man back to their table of waiting friends, their five shots down to just two if they combine the remains of what isn’t currently soaking into Seungyoun’s jeans. 

“If it makes you feel better, you can pay for my clothes to be dry-cleaned,” Seungyoun says cheerily, wincing when Wooseok aims a smack at the back of his head. 

“Why would that make _me_ feel better, asshole.”

Seungyoun wakes up to a Venmo notification. 

**Kim Wooseok sent you 30,000₩.**

**Note: __**_for your clothes. asshole._

Seungyoun snorts and pulls up their conversation in Kakao.

 **sy** : _in what world does dry cleaning my jeans n shirt cost 30,000₩_

 **ws** : **__**_you can keep the change and use it to buy yourself some real food dumbass <3_

 **sy** : _i have real food wtf_

 **ws** : _3 month old leftovers of ur mom’s jjigae is not real food_

 **sy** : _i’ll make sure to tell her u said that_

 **ws** : _she’ll agree with me_

One of his daily phone calls with his mother and a lecture about eating properly later, it is clear that Wooseok is correct. 

Irritating. 

Also, he has been informed that there is a wedding to attend in his mother’s place, since she has to be abroad for a work trip. And he absolutely will not allow himself to suffer through this alone. 

So what does he do? 

“Absolutely not.” Wooseok looks at him like he’s insane for even asking, looking incredulous as he takes a bite out of his slice of pizza. 

They’re at Seungyoun’s place, settled in front of the TV and on the floor, binge watching one of the dramas that Wooseok insisted that they watch together. 

“Please,” Seungyoun pleads, taking a chug straight from the liter of soda that had come with their food. Like the animal he is. “You can’t let me suffer alone.” 

“Oh, I can’t?” Wooseok asks, looking amused as he continues to eat. 

“You really are an asshole,” Seungyoun mutters, chomping a little more aggressively on his pizza than he probably needs to. “I am _begging_ you.”

“No.” 

“Why not?”

“What makes you think that I want to interact with your relatives any more than you do? And you know these people.” Wooseok sniffs haughtily and wipes his mouth delicately on a napkin before he grabs the soda and takes a chug from it himself. “No. Final answer.” 

Seungyoun knows that this next thing he is going to say is his last resort, because he doesn’t like to enable Wooseok like this, but he knows that it’s a good selling point and it would get the other man to seriously consider going with him to this godforsaken wedding. 

“There’s an open bar.” 

Wooseok freezes, his slice of pizza half way to his mouth. He sets his pizza slice down and wipes delicately at his mouth. “Suddenly, I have changed my mind.” 

Seungyoun snorts and shakes his head at the other man. “Are you sure you’re not an alcoholic?”

“I am simply a young adult coping.” 

“You’re an elementary school art teacher—what are you coping with?”

“Cho Seungyoun, I am depressed.” 

“Damn, me too.” 

“See, this is why we’re best friends.”

“You’re right, it’s not because we were assigned random roommates freshman year of college and we’ve been stuck with each other ever since.” 

“Details are meaningless,” Wooseok says dismissively, shoving the remaining bit of his pizza in his mouth.

**ws** : do you even have a suit

 **sy** : ofc i have a suit wtf…

Seungyoun does not have a suit. 

At least not one that fits him properly. The last time he wore it was to a wedding when he was 16, and needless to say, Seungyoun has grown since then. Like half a foot. Wooseok will never forgive him for it.

Wooseok is sitting on the chair in the department store dressing room, messing around on his phone while Seungyoun tries on suits. 

“Okay, what about this one,” Seungyoun says, spinning around and facing the other man, striking different poses and making different faces. Wooseok just looks at him, unamused, eyeing him up and down, and suddenly Seungyoun is sweating. 

“Makes you look like you have no ass,” Wooseok says, all matter of fact like, going back to his phone. “A slimmer fit pant is better for you.” 

“I have an ass!” Seungyoun protests, turning back to the mirror and turns to the side, examining himself before frowning. “Wait…” 

“What’d I say?”

“You’re so mean to me.” 

“Only because I don’t want you to look like you have a pancake ass.”

“You’re one to talk.” 

“Hey,” Wooseoks says sharply, glaring and looking about as threatening as a kitten. “Watch your fucking mouth.” Seungyoun blows him a kiss and earns himself a middle finger and a shake of the head. 

“Last suit and we’ll be done, I promise,” Seungyoun says, shrugging off the suit jacket he’s wearing and putting it back on the hanger it came on.

“And then you owe me a coffee.”

Seungyoun turns around at this and loosens the tie before he undoes it, raising his eyebrows. “I don’t remember agreeing to that.”

“You thought I was doing this for free? Suit consulting and following you around?” Wooseok asks, making a sour face. 

“Yes? It’s a best friend duty?” Seungyoun is unbuttoning his shirt now, and Wooseok is just shaking his head at him, looking displeased. 

“I’ll remember that for the day I get arrested and need someone to bail me out,” Wooseok says smugly, looking back down at his phone. “I expect you to post bail in full.” 

Seungyoun snorts and turns back towards the mirror as he slips his white shirt off and hangs it on a hanger and grabs a black one. As he slips it on and buttons it up, he gets that strange feeling that one gets when one can sense that someone is watching, but when he turns to look at Wooseok again, the man is looking down at his phone. Weird. 

This suit that he tries on is jet black, and the worker out on the sales floor had suggested silver cufflinks to bring the whole look together. Looking at himself now, Seungyoun thinks that this might be the one. 

Seungyoun turns around and holds his arms like _tada_ , and looks at Wooseok expectantly. “What do you think?” 

This time, Wooseok eyes him with more interest than he had before with all the other suits he had tried on. “This is the one.” 

“Yeah? You think so?” Seungyoun says, and he can feel heat rise up his neck, knowing that his face is probably turning pink. 

“Spin.” Wooseok has put his phone down for once, giving Seungyoun his full attention, and he feels shy all of the sudden, even though he shouldn’t be. Because it’s just Wooseok. “You look good.” 

“Really?” Seungyoun can feel this wave of happiness washing over him as he turns to look at himself in the mirror again. He turns to the side to look at his ass. It looks good. “I have a butt!” 

Wooseok snorts, and Seungyoun can see the way that he has trouble hiding the way the corners of his mouth turn up into an involuntary smile. “You wanna say that louder so everyone can hear?” 

Seungyoun opens his mouth and acts like he’s going to say it again, but Wooseok aims a well-placed kick at shin, effectively shutting him up. “Ow, asshole.” Wooseok just looks very pleased with himself. 

“Hurry up and change, I’m hungry,” Wooseok complains, frowning. 

“You know I’m not paying for lunch, right?” Seungyoun says, getting undressed again. 

“Why are my services being taken advantage of? I don’t work for free, you know.” 

“What part of this is work? You haven’t even done anything. You’ve just been sitting there on your phone telling me I’m ugly and have no ass.” Seungyoun is pouting at Wooseok as he pulls his own clothes on. He tries his best to put all the suits and shirts back on the hangers properly because he’s not an animal. 

“Excuse me, when did I say you were ugly?” Wooseok demands, phone abandoned in his lap, looking just as aghast as he sounds. Seungyoun doesn’t answer, just laughs, earning himself a smack in the arm and a glare. “I draw the line at calling you ugly. Because that’s a lie.” 

“But me not having an ass isn’t?” Seungyoun sounds like a petulant child, and he’d be embarrassed about Wooseok saying that he’s not ugly if he wasn’t feeling so defensive about his own ass. 

“See, I never said that either,” Wooseok says, turning his nose up. “I just said that the pants made you _look_ like you had no ass.”

“Same thing,” Seungyoun mumbles, brightening when he hands the suits he doesn’t want back to the worker, thanking them with a bright smile before he goes back to pouting at Wooseok. “I have an ass.” 

“Okay, you have an ass, are you happy now?” Wooseok sounds exasperated, like he usually does when he’s tired of Seungyoun’s antics. 

The worker gives them a strange look, and Seungyoun loses it and begins giggling uncontrollably as Wooseok smacks him, his face pink. 

Seungyoun is sitting in his car and waiting for Wooseok to come down from his apartment so they can head to the wedding. It takes everything in him not to loosen the tie around his neck, the knot a little too tight for his liking. He glances at the clock on his dashboard again for the thousandth time since he had pulled up to Wooseok’s building. It’s not like they’re running late at this moment, but if Wooseok takes any longer he thinks they might be. 

Candy Crush becomes his distraction for the next five or so minutes before he gets impatient again. Seungyoun is not someone with the longest attention span. A dial tone reverberates the speakers of his car as he calls Wooseok, tired of waiting. 

“Hello?” Wooseok sounds annoyed, and his voice is echoing, which tells Seungyoun that the man has him on speaker, and that he’s in the bathroom. 

“Are you almost done?” Seungyoun leans down a little and glances out the passenger window at the apartment building, as if he’d see the other man coming down. “We’re going to be late.” 

“Relax,” Wooseok sighs, and Seungyoun can hear him walking around. “I’m coming. Do you need anything?”

“Yeah, for you to get down here so we can leave,” Seungyoun huffs, still looking out the passenger window. 

“For someone who doesn’t want to go to a wedding, you sure are antsy to get there on time,” Wooseok snorts, and Seungyoun can hear him closing his apartment door and the tell-tale tinkling music of the lock. 

“Yeah, but I have judgemental relatives,” Seungyoun complains, “We can’t be late.” 

“Since when do you care what people think about you?” 

Seungyoun hears the automated voice of the elevator announcing that it would be descending. “This is family—it’s different.” 

“You make a good point,” Wooseok concedes. “The last time I went to a wedding—”

“You stood up on your chair at the table and shook your ass,” Seungyoun finishes for him, snickering at the memory of Wooseok showing him a video that his mother had taken of him. 

“I did not shake my ass,” Wooseok protests, but Seungyoun can hear the laugh in his voice, and can practically see the way his lips are pressed together to keep the giggles in. “I’m hanging up—I’ll be out in a sec.” 

“Okay,” Seungyoun replies, but the asshole has already hung up. He sighs and looks out the passenger window for the millionth time, but this time he has to do a double take because of how stunning Wooseok looks. It even looks like the man has whipped out the pink lipgloss for the occasion, and Seungyoun tries not to think about how much he wants to kiss him and taste it. 

Wooseok goes to open the passenger door, but Seungyoun had forgotten to unlock it. Wooseok raises his eyebrows at him, waiting. Seungyoun shakes himself internally and unlocks the door for him, snorting at the way the smaller man shoots him an incredulous look as he seatbelts. 

“You were so eager to get going and you didn’t even unlock the door.” 

“I’m antsy,” Seungyoun says defensively, shooting him a look as he signals to pull out onto the road. When they’re on the highway, he says, “You look good.” 

“You too,” Wooseok says, and when Seungyoun glances over, he can see the way the smaller man’s cheeks have flushed a pretty pink color. 

“I can’t believe you just have a nice suit lying around.” Seungyoun glances at this rearview and side mirrors as he changes lanes. 

“I have a lot of cousins that have been getting married lately,” Wooseok says, sounding forlorn. “My mom makes me go with her.” 

“That really is so unfortunate,” Seungyoun sympathizes. “I see why you get so drunk that you’d get on top of the table and shake your ass.”

“Excuse me, it was a chair,” Wooseok corrects huffily. “And I was not drunk, and I was not shaking my ass.” 

“Okay, you were just swinging your arms around and ‘woohoo’-ing,” Seungyoun concedes, and Wooseok sighs, unable to rebuke, because it’s true. “Please don’t do that tonight.” 

“I can’t believe you think I’d embarrass you like that in front of your family.” Wooseok sounds indignant, and Seungyoun can’t help but laugh. When he looks over, the smaller man is pouting, and he wants nothing more than to kiss it away. Instead, he fixes Wooseok with a look that says that he does think Wooseok would embarrass him in front of his whole family. 

“I wouldn’t!” Wooseok whines, and Seungyoun laughs again, so fond he can’t do anything else but give the other man a shit-eating grin that he knows Wooseok can’t stand. The man glares at Seungyoun and huffs, turning his face away to look out the window instead. “I’m going to now, just because you think I would.”

Seungyoun feels a spark of panic. “Now, wait a minute—”

Thankfully, Wooseok doesn’t do anything embarrassing. Not during the ceremony, at least. There’s still plenty of time for him to humiliate Seungyoun during the reception. Wooseok also had managed to snag two drinks while they waited to be let into the reception hall. They’ve only just found their table and seats and are settling in. 

After sitting down, Seungyoun takes a quick glance at all the placement cards to see who would be sitting with them at this table. Unfortunately, he and Wooseok are seated with a couple of his least favorite uncles, ones that have made it very clear in the past that they do not approve of his career choice. Their wives are much nicer than they are, but it doesn’t make it any better. Seungyoun can only imagine how much more shitty the situation would have been if he didn’t have Wooseok with him. For a moment, he feels gratitude rush over him as he watches Wooseok take a sip from his water glass. 

The first uncle, an investment banker, arrives and both Seungyoun and Wooseok stand and bow. The uncle smiles politely at Wooseok, but it turns icy when he turns Seungyoun and it’s then that he knows that he’s in for a long night. 

This particular wedding has a buffet-style meal prepared and because of that, Seungyoun and Wooseok split up while serving themselves. Seungyoun returns to the table first, where the aunties are already sitting as well. As soon as he settles in to eat, they pounce. 

“Is he your boyfriend, Seungyoun-ie?” 

Obviously, Seungyoun chokes on a chunk of pickled radish, taking a moment to sip his water before he blurts out, “No.” 

They both look disappointed and Seungyoun doesn’t blame them, because he’s quite disappointed that Wooseok isn’t his boyfriend either. What can you do? 

“He’s so well-mannered and handsome,” one aunt says. 

“It’s a shame,” says the other. It really is, Seungyoun thinks to himself. 

At this point, the uncles and Wooseok have returned to the table and everyone begins to eat. Seungyoun hasn’t even gotten to fully enjoy his food in peace before the grilling starts. 

“So how’s work been, Seungyoun?” Investment banker uncle asks, raising an eyebrow. “What is it that you do again?” 

“Music production,” says the accountant uncle, and it comes out half a scoff. “Whatever that means.” 

Seungyoun urges himself to stay calm and collected, sneaking a sideways glance at Wooseok, whose body has tensed up. He’s looking at Seungyoun, as if looking to him for the proper reaction. 

“I’m a producer for some of the music agencies in Seoul,” Seungyoun says simply, wiping his mouth on his napkin. He takes a sip of water. “Mostly freelance.” 

“How do you expect to make any money doing freelance?” Investment banker uncle asks, sounding dubious. 

“Surely it makes more sense to work exclusively with one big agency for stability? Doesn’t seem very wise to work the way you do,” Accountant uncle adds. 

Seungyoun can feel himself bristle, and opens his mouth to reply, but Wooseok beats him to it. Uh-oh. 

“Actually, working in music the way that Seungyoun does is very fulfilling. Not to mention lucrative,” Wooseok says, and there’s an edge to his voice that suggests that the man is a lot less calm than he sounds. 

“Fulfilling,” Investment banker uncle repeats, sounding almost like a laugh. He sneers before speaking again. “Does it matter that it’s fulfilling if he’s not making any money?”

Wooseok lets out a breath that sounds like half a scoff, half a sigh, and Seungyoun knows that this might not end well.

“He’s definitely making money,” Wooseok says, wiping his mouth with his cloth napkin before setting it on the table beside his plate. He takes a large sip of his vodka soda that he had gotten for himself on his second round at the buffet and Seungyoun eyes it nervously. Wooseok may not be on top of the table and shaking his ass, but he is going head to head with his uncles fueled by alcohol. He should probably step in and put a stop to this before they’re ahead, but part of Seungyoun wants to see what Wooseok says, wants to see how this will go, and hopefully it ends with Wooseok making grown men cry. Not that he hasn’t already done that before. Seungyoun can attest to its entertainment value. 

“...Really,” Accountant uncle says, raising his eyebrows. “How so?” 

The aunties are just listening to the conversation, looking from their husbands to the younger men like it’s a tennis match. 

“Not only does Seungyoun work on his own music for himself, he works with so many different kinds of people within the industry, whether it’s artists or other producers, and gets to network with all of them and build a rapport with them. He makes music for other people and idol groups and helps them succeed on a musical level. Not to mention the royalties that come in from those idol groups, especially when they do well,” Wooseok says. “And on top of doing that, he does it _well_.” He speaks firmly and with confidence, his chin is held high with a sort of pride. Pride in _Seungyoun_.

The uncles stop questioning him after this. 

Seungyoun can feel the heat rise in his cheeks, and can feel the warmth travel in his body. The aunties are looking at him, knowing smiles on their faces, and he quickly looks away, taking a large pull from his glass of water. Long night averted, he thinks.

They’re in the car on the way home from the wedding. Wooseok did not get up on the table and shake his ass. Wooseok did not humiliate him in front of the whole family. They did have a good time goofing around on the dance floor with the little kids. They all loved Wooseok. 

Music is playing softly on the speakers, and Wooseok is scrolling on his phone.

Seungyoun clears his throat. Wooseok looks up, eyebrows raised in question. “Thanks for defending me back there.”

“Of course,” Wooseok sniffs, putting his phone down in his lap. “Only I’m allowed to bully you and tear down your confidence.” 

(Seungyoun knows Wooseok is joking. He does not tear down Seungyoun’s confidence. Not really, at least.)

“Wow, thanks,” Seungyoun says dryly, shaking his head like he’s annoyed. 

They’re quiet, but Wooseok doesn’t pick up his phone again. 

“You really are good at what you do, you know,” Wooseok says suddenly, and Seungyoun looks over at him to see the man is looking at him with his brows furrowed, lower lip pulled between his teeth. 

“I know,” Seungyoun says loftily, smugly, shooting Wooseok a grin that he knows will annoy him. 

“Asshole, I’m trying to be nice,” Wooseok says grumpily, reaching over and punching his arm, albeit gently.

“I know,” Seungyoun says, smile softening, voice quieter. “Thank you. It really means a lot to hear it.” He takes a moment to look at all the mirrors as he merges lanes, before he speaks again. “Especially from you.” 

“What do you mean?” Wooseok sounds a little confused. 

“I just mean that it means a lot to me,” Seungyoun says again, not explaining, and he wills himself not to turn pink. He doesn’t know how to even begin explaining anyway. At least not in a way that would make sense and wouldn’t expose the fact that he is utterly in love with Wooseok. 

“You’re my best friend,” Wooseok says simply, and he doesn’t say anything else. 

It’s another Friday night, and it’s been weeks since the wedding, and neither Seungyoun or Wooseok have spoken about it since. But Wooseok has made more of an effort to make sure that his best friend is doing well and that he’s proud of him. Seungyoun is grateful for this. And for him. 

Wooseok is drunk. Or well on his way to being drunk. He’s only the slightest bit unsteady on his feet, only noticeable if you’re paying attention. And of course, Seungyoun is always paying attention.

It’s Wooseok and Seungyoun’s rounds again, and they’re waiting for drinks at the bar. This time, it isn’t quite so crowded and they’re able to talk to each other without having to yell. Everyone had particular drink requests this round, and Wooseok and Seungyoun are splitting. 

Seungyoun and Wooseok are talking about something stupid, like they always are. In the corner of his eye, Seungyoun can see a couple of girls fooling around and lightly shoving each other and laughing at something. He doesn’t think much of it until one girl is stumbling back in his direction and in instinct, catches her around the waist with his hands, steadying her. He moves his hands to her shoulders once she straightens up. 

“Whoa, you okay there?” Seungyoun asks, dipping his head a little to look her in the face. She smiles gratefully up at him and nods. 

“I’m fine, thanks,” she says, and Seungyoun nods, letting go. 

“Youn,” Wooseok says, tone warning, looking somewhere beyond Seungyoun’s shoulder. There’s an angry looking man coming their way. 

Uh-oh. Angry boyfriend alert.

Seungyoun barely gets to react before he’s being shoved into the bar, the edge of the counter making contact with his ribs. It hurts, but it’s not a big deal. He looks over at Wooseok to make sure he’s okay, only to find the smaller man glaring at the girl’s boyfriend and looking like he’s about to swing. 

“You think you can put your hands on my girl and it’d be okay?” the guy demands, his voice way louder than is necessary. Well, him coming over wasn’t necessary either, but what can you do.

“What the fuck is your problem?” Wooseok demands, his voice raising as well. 

“Babe, he wasn’t—” The girl tries to say, but her boyfriend ignores her, moving in closer to Seungyoun. 

“You better step back,” Wooseok says, his tone warning as he steps closer to Seungyoun, as if protecting him. Seungyoun glances helplessly over at where the bartender is standing, at the opposite end of the bar working on drink orders over there. 

“I saw what I saw,” he spits, glaring, grabbing a handful of Seungyoun’s shirt. 

“I was just helping your girlfriend,” Seungyoun says calmly, trying to make sure he doesn’t say it in a tone that would aggravate the guy more. “She fell and I was just making sure she was okay.”

“Don’t fucking touch him,” Wooseok says in outrage, shoving the guy away from Seungyoun, fists clenched. 

“You had to make sure she was okay by touching her?” the guy scoffs, looking even angrier than before, for whatever reason. 

“Did you want her to fucking fall instead?” Wooseok asks, incredulously. 

“Seok, I’m fine, please,” Seungyoun tries, his hand on Wooseok’s shoulder, but the smaller man ignores him and shakes him off.

“Don’t fucking touch my girl,” the guy says, and it’s clear he is solely fixating on that part of the situation, because he moves in closer again and this time his hand rises from his side and it’s also clear that he’s about to fucking hit Seungyoun. 

Except he doesn’t notice this because he’s too busy glancing towards their table, and only sees Seungwoo and the others starting to head over to see what the fuck is going on, and it’s in that moment that shit hits the fan. 

The only thing he sees when he looks back is the way that Wooseok reaches over the bar counter and grabs a handle that the bartender has left there, bringing it over his head, poised to hit the angry boyfriend with it, only it slips from his grasp and flies backwards, hitting the wall that is behind the bar and shattering the bottle, as well as a couple of the handles on the shelf built into it. 

The room goes silent. 

Everyone is just staring in shock, and Seungyoun feels his heart sink as he watches the bartender grab the phone. Because there’s no question as to who they’re calling. 

Needless to say, Wooseok is arrested for destruction of property. 

The angry boyfriend and his girlfriend disappear quickly after the incident happens, not wanting to be cited as having any involvement in it. Wooseok likes to think that the boyfriend was scared of him and didn’t want his ass beat by him. 

Wooseok is calm when the cops put him in cuffs, laughing softly as he watches Seungyoun have a mental breakdown and as Seungwoo attempts to console him. They, along with Yohan and Hangyul follow Wooseok and the cops out of the bar as they lead him to their cruiser. 

“I’m the one being arrested and you’re the one having a mental breakdown, Younie?” Wooseok attempts to joke, and Seungyoun only lets out a distressed squabble in response. 

As Wooseok gets into the car, Seungyoun calms down enough to say, “Don’t worry, we’ll figure this out, okay?” 

“I’m not worried,” Wooseok reassures him, because he never does when it comes to Seungyoun. “I trust you.”

When they get to the station, Wooseok is led inside where his belongings are taken from him and his fingerprints are recorded in the system. They also take his mugshot, and belatedly, while they take him to the holding cell, Wooseok hopes he looked good in it. Obviously he should be more worried about the fact that he got arrested and he’ll have to tell the school that he teaches at and he could get fired but those are problems for the Wooseok of tomorrow. 

The problems of the Wooseok of today is how he managed to fuck up so badly that he ended up getting arrested. The cell that they put him in has other people that have been arrested tonight, and everyone keeps to themselves. Not that he’d even want to talk to anyone in there anyway. He has a lot of thinking and self reflection to do.

Alcohol aside, why had he thrown himself into the middle of the situation like that? He wasn’t that drunk, he had control over his actions, so what goes on?

Of course the answer is because it was Seungyoun who was in trouble. Something that Wooseok doesn’t want to think too much about is the fact that when it comes to his best friend, there isn’t much thinking that is done before springing into action. He doesn’t know why he does that. Yes, Seungyoun is his best friend and he’d do anything for him but it’s not quite that simple, is it? 

Wooseok trues thinking about it another way. Would he do this kind of thing for Seungwoo? Probably not, but mostly because the man is older and knows how to take care of himself and also he doesn’t feel any particular instinct to protect him because Wooseok just doesn’t love him like he loves—

Oh. _Oh_. 

Wooseok wouldn’t make stupid decisions and get himself arrested for anyone except Seungyoun because he doesn’t love anyone else like he loves Seungyoun. And he doesn’t just love the man in the That’s My Best Friend For Life way, but in the I’d Make Stupid Decisions And Land Myself In Jail For The Night To Protect You way. 

Wooseok is in love with Seungyoun, and that may be the stupidest thing he’s ever done. 

Speaking of the devil. 

Wooseok is mid-emotional breakdown when an officer comes to get him, stating, “Someone posted bail for you.”

Is Wooseok surprised? Absolutely not, because it’s been proven time and time again that Seungyoun would also do stupid shit for Wooseok. A pair of idiots—who would have known.

Seungyoun isn’t in the lobby when Wooseok is released after getting his belongings returned to him, but he finds him outside, the station, pacing back and forth a little as he waits. 

“Youn?” Wooseok says quietly, pulling his sweater sleeves over his hands nervously, and Seungyoun stops pacing to look at him.

This is the most serious that Wooseok has seen Seungyoun in awhile, and it scares him a little. Wooseok stays where he is, looking down at the cracks in the pavement, not sure how to act. But then suddenly Seunyoun is right there and he’s pulling Wooseok into his chest, his embrace tight. 

“You know, when you said you’d remember what I said for the day you got arrested and needed someone to bail you out, I didn’t think it would happen a little over a month later,” Seungyoun said, and Wooseok’s chest feels tight for some reason and he only manages to force out a laugh. 

There’s a pinching sensation behind his eyes and so he blinks rapidly, trying to get it to go away. There’s no reason for him to be crying at this moment. Wooseok lets himself be held, because if he’s honest with himself, he needs this. 

And if he’s extra honest with himself, he’ll notice the flutter in his heart that has always been there.

They’re in the car on the way back to Wooseok’s place, which is quite a drive from this particular precinct. 

It’s quiet for a few minutes, and in the air is a palpable kind of tension. Wooseok’s phone is dead, so he can’t even go on it for a distraction. Luckily, and unfortunately, Seungyoun doesn’t let the silence go on for much longer. 

“Why do you keep getting into fights for me when you’re drunk?” Seungyoun looks over at him, brows furrowed, and he sounds confused, like he can’t quite wrap his head around the reason why Wooseok would involve himself constantly. 

“I don’t know.”

“You scared me, you know. This could have ended way worse.” Seungyoun sounds almost upset when he says this. Wooseok can hear it in the tremble of his voice.

“I know.”

“You could have gotten hurt.” 

“I _know_.” Wooseok is getting impatient, frustrated, and he knows he has no right to be. 

“So why’d you do it?” Seungyoun’s voice raises, and it’s not enough to call it yelling, but it’s enough for Wooseok to wince, because the other man never raises his voice in anger. 

“I don’t know, okay? I was a little drunk and I wasn’t thinking straight…” Wooseok trails off, saying the last bit quietly to himself because he’d rather Seungyoun not hear it. 

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“No, you said something.”

“I didn’t say anything.” 

“Seok, please.” Seungyoun sounds annoyed, genuinely irked now.

Wooseok takes a moment and sighs, looking out the window. “I said, ‘I never do when it comes to you.’”

“Never do what?”

“Think straight.” If this was a funny situation, Wooseok would laugh at himself for saying this. Alas, it is not.

“When it comes to what?”

“You.” Wooseok grits this out, fists clenching in embarrassment. 

“What?”

“I don’t know, okay? Can we please stop talking about this.” Wooseok continues to stare out the window, like if he looks hard enough with enough intention and desire for the conversation to end, it will. That’s not how it works, but Wooseok will try anyway. 

“You can’t keep doing this, Seok.” Seungyoun sounds tired, resigned, and Wooseok hates himself for making the man feel this way over stupid decisions that he makes. 

“I know, okay? I learned my lesson.” Wooseok’s grip on his phone is vise-like, as if the way the edges of the device are digging into his palm can help ground him. 

“And, what exactly, did you learn?” Seungyoun asks dubiously, and it’s that little thread of doubt in his voice that makes a tiny little jab into his heart and Wooseok feels extra guilty. 

“God, can you not be my dad right now,” Wooseok scoffs, looking away from the window now, head pressed back into the seat’s headrest. He stares up at the car ceiling.

“Seok, I need to hear it. We both know how you get when you’re tipsy or drunk, and it wasn’t a big deal before because you never put yourself in danger. But now with what happened tonight—How do I know it’s not going to happen again?” Seungyoun says all this while he pulls up to the curb by Wooseok’s apartment building. He turns off the engine.

Wooseok looks over at Seungyoun finally, taking in the concerned furrow of his brow, the way he’s looking at him, and the emotional breakdown that he was having in the middle of the holding cell earlier threatens to return. 

“It’s late,” Wooseok says finally. “Do you want to come up and stay the night?” 

“I want us to talk about this,” Seungyoun says, frowning as he glances at the clock on his dashboard. It reads 2 a.m. 

“And we can. Upstairs,” Wooseok replies, and he starts to get out. “Are you coming or not? I think this conversation is more doable in pajamas. And I don’t want you driving around this late at night. It’s dangerous.” 

“Maybe you should have thought about this before you got arrested and needed me to come bail you out and pick you up, huh?” And even though Seungyoun says this without any bite, Wooseok cringes, because he’s right. 

“I know, I’m sorry,” Wooseok says quietly, and he shuts the door. Seungyoun gets out of the car and locks it, following Wooseok into his apartment building. 

They’re changed into more comfortable clothes and sitting on the couch. Wooseok had some clothes that Seungyoun had left there from one of the other times he had stayed over. He never asked for them back, and Wooseok figured it was best if he kept them there just in case. Wooseok made tea and they’re sipping it quietly. 

The silence is too much, so Wooseok takes a deep breath, as if steeling himself. 

“You wanted to know what I learned?” Wooseok asks quietly, setting his mug down on the coffee table. He grips the edge of his t-shirt with one of his hands as if it would ground him amidst the nerves that are rendering him antsy. 

Seungyoun doesn’t say anything, so Wooseok looks up from his hands to turn to him. Seungyoun raises his eyebrows, as if encouraging him to continue. 

Wooseok looks away before he says,“I learned that I do stupid shit when I’m drunk, and especially when it comes to you. Because it’s like my body knew that I love you and that I’d do anything for you before I even knew. Also learned I need to stop fucking drinking.” He says this in one breath and feels like he’s going to die by the end of it because not only did he say that all at once without pause, he also just admitted that he—

“Did you not know that you love me, or something?” Seungyoun sounds confused and Wooseok is confused because is this really how this conversation is going?

Wooseok feels like he’s been punched in the head because What. So he says, “What.” Real intelligent like.

“Even I know that…” Seungyoun sets down his tea as well.

“What.” Wooseok does not have the brain functionality at this moment to understand where Seungyoun is going with this. 

“We’re best friends, Seok, of course we care about each other,” Seungyoun says, like it’s obvious, like oh, of course they love each other in the we’re best bros way. God.

“Youn.” Wooseok can’t help the incredulous laugh that escapes him as he says this because really, this is not how he thought this conversation would go. He didn’t even think he would ever have to have the confession conversation because he had planned on simply _not confessing_. 

“What?” Seungyoun still sounds confused and it takes everything in Wooseok to not grab him by the shoulders and shake him. Gently of course. Mostly. 

“That’s not what I mean.” Wooseok can hear the defeat in his own voice because he is tired and does not want to be having this conversation in the first place. He was barely done having his emotional breakdown in jail, for god’s sake. 

“Huh?”

“I love you.” 

“Yeah. I know. I love you too.” 

Cue unfinished emotional breakdown to resume.

“God, you’re so fucking stupid,” Wooseok cries, putting his head in his hands because holy shit. 

“Uh.”

“I’m in love with you.” Wooseok looks up, looking at Seungyoun now and it takes everything to not just grab his face and just kiss him. Just show him. 

“You’re what now.” Seungyoun’s voice has gotten all high, higher than normal and he looks like he’s the one having a breakdown now. 

“Please don’t make me repeat myself for the thousandth time tonight,” Wooseok says tiredly. 

That pinching sensation behind his eyes is back and he really doesn’t have the energy to try and stop it this time because he’s having a breakdown in the middle of this conversation. Wooseok barely notices the stray tear streaking down his cheek.

Seungyoun moves closer and holds Wooseok’s face in one hand, using his thumb to wipe away the tear, his brows furrowed. “Hey, why are you crying?” His voice is so gentle, so soft, and it only makes Wooseok want to cry more. He can’t help but lean into Seungyoun’s touch. 

“It’s already enough that you only see me as a bro or whatever, but you’re also going to reject me and I don’t think it’s fair to make me repeat myself only for that to happen.” 

“Why would I reject you?” Seungyoun asks. “I’m not going to reject you.”

“You’re not?” Wooseok’s heart is beating the fastest it has in awhile and he thinks he needs to lie down.

“I thought this whole I’m In Love With My Best Friend thing was one-sided,” Seungyoun says thoughtfully, and he’s smiling that smile that rivals the sun in radiance. “I’m glad to see it’s not.”

“It’s not?” Wooseok can’t help the way he’s holding his breath but he really wants to make sure that he’s understanding correctly before he does anything stupid. Not that it would be a surprise.

Seungyoun laughs and leans in and Wooseok’s eyes widen as their noses and lips are brushing, and the other man laughs again. Seungyoun waits another second, like he’s giving Wooseok time to pull away. 

And when he doesn't, he’s got his mouth pressed against Wooseok’s mouth and it takes a moment for Wooseok to unfreeze and react appropriately. 

And of course the appropriate reaction is to kiss him back. Passionately. 

Maybe a little too passionately.

**outtake**

It’s a Friday night and they’re at a bar. 

Yohan and Hangyul are slamming back shots and Seungwoo is watching miserably and thinking about his wallet. Seungyoun is holding Wooseok’s hand. 

Wooseok is having iced water with a lemon wedge. All is well. 

**Author's Note:**

> Wooseok: I'm not an alcoholic


End file.
